About This Project

The primary objective of the project is to create an industrially-comparable method of producing PHA, a biodegradable plastic, from Styrofoam (polystyrene) waste. We hypothesize that a genetically modifying E. coli can convert styrene (monomerized polystyrene) to P3HB, a specific PHA, with just two plasmids. Our device will aim to reduce the 30% of plastic waste volume accounted for by polystyrene while simultaneously enabling cost-effective production of PHA.